I just finished installing the new sail furling kit on my 2010 Oasis. Let me begin by quoting the old saying; "Simplicity is Beauty." In this case Hobie really nailed it. Both the installation and the operation of this unit is simple and functional.In the case of the Oasis, I only had to drill two holes in the hull. Those were for the fairlead. All else was able to be connected to what was already there. Starting with the furling assembly, just follow the directions as written. You will have to loosen the 4 screws to allow the assembly to slide onto the mast and after determining the appropriate height, retighten the screws to hold it in place. In the picture below notice how I used the already installed downhaul post that was in place for the sail downhaul originally. I simply tied a stopper knot in the downhaul line and slipped the downhaul end over the post. The knot should be located so that the line has some movement but is taunt enough to hold the mast in place should you turtle the boat. A little slack is OK.

An easy way to determine the five inches behind the center of the mast is to use a carpenters square. Just center the five inch mark with the mast make sure it is close to square and make a pencil mark. Hopefully your square is not as rusty as mine and you will be able to see the gradients better. So much for living close to salt water.

Here’s a view of the pencil mark.

The older models like mine are not as easy as the newer Oasis models. The gunnels on the new models are flat in the area where the fairlead goes whereas the 2010 and older have a rounded gunnel. However I found the plastic to be quite thick in this area so even though it is not perfectly level you can put a fair amount of torque on the screws when tightening with no structural problems. You’ll note as I drill the holes I use an old hand drill. I like to use one of those in this application because I can do as much collateral damage as I can with a power tool.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to install the fairlead in the Oasis. I decided to try by drilling the initial holes and seeing if I could reach the screws through the second hatch. If that didn’t work, I was planning on buying some well nuts, drilling the holes at a larger diameter and going that route. Fortunately I was just able to reach the end of the screws with my fingertips while reaching over with a Phillips head stubby on the top of the screw bolts. Any shorter arms and this wouldn’t have worked.

Here’s a view of the near finished project. You can see how far of a reach it was to get the locking nuts on the screws.

Finally, as Roadrunner stated in his post on installing the Sail Furling Kit, I didn’t have to add the rear pad-eye for the line assembly. I was able to simply hook it into the pad-eye for the rear storage bungee and it fit perfectly. You may want to see his post from October 31 for good pictures of that operation. The line assembly comes with two stopper knots to restrict the movement of the round beads used to adjust the furling line. The knots did not match the movement I needed to successfully furl or deploy the sail. Simply loosen one of the knots and make the adjustments you need by moving the position of the knot on the line. It won’t take long and you will have a very simple, functional furling system that should give you a good service life.

I just picked up the kit and your photos really helped explain a lot of things.

Thanks.

I had purchased a used 2 seater Oasis. It's a 2010 and It came with the sail and some hardware but I've never sailed it. I am just now getting around to it and purchased this new furling kit which I like (aesthetically) better than the PVC option.

Now I'm going to start another thread to seek some help as to where this other hardware goes...

_________________2010 Mirage Oasis Tandem

Words Of Wisdom From My Old Mentor....

"I never met a man on his deathbed, who wished he had spent more time at the office."

Ok. I just finished this install and I'm not sure how you got yours to work but in my case, there is not enough line in the kit to make enough revolutions, in order to completely furl the sail around the mast. The two black balls "stop" you from pulling in more line to completely wrap the sail around the mast because there's only about two feet before the balls hit either the ring on the shock cord or the fairlead.

I have a tandem oasis and perhaps the kit is for a single seater. I don't know. Maybe your not supposed to completely furl the sail around the mast. Maybe just furling half it is good enough ?

I had to go to the marine store and purchase longer line.

Second, in my case, the best mounting position of the fairlead put the mounting hardware out of reach. My arms were not long enough to reach under the hatch and get to the hardware. So, I had to use well nuts. Now you run into two more problems. The diameter of the bolts that come with the kit is smaller than the diameter of the bolt the fits the 3/8" well nut. Also, the length of the bolt that comes with the well nut is not long enough to bite the threads at the end of the well nut because the added height of the fairlead leaves you short. So, you have to buy 1.5" length bolts. Finally, the head of the correct bolts are too large to seat into the opening at the top of the fairlead...so,......I had to put them on my grinding wheel to reduce the diameter of the head.

Nothing complicated but it took some extra time.

I also wound up replacing the nylon downhaul line with shock cord. Even though I could shore up the down haul line with the existing nylon line, I just didn't like the idea that the fitting that goes around the eye bolt was loose and could slip off if not under some tension. Yes, I am...Type A.

Next..... Figuring out how to run the sail lines so that I'm pulling the line to bring the sail in and releasing line to let it out....

_________________2010 Mirage Oasis Tandem

Words Of Wisdom From My Old Mentor....

"I never met a man on his deathbed, who wished he had spent more time at the office."

I had the same issue as you when it came to the length of the furling line, the knots and the plastic black balls. I found that the knot can be loosened and moved to a different position allowing more room for furling. However, even at that there is always a small tab at the clew end of the sail exposed when the sail is furled. It's not much but if it gets on my nerves I'm seriously thinking of breaking one of the plastic balls and moving that knot back to the other ball through the metal ring on the aft tension line. That way there would only be one plastic ball with a knot on each side of it. Then way I'd have way more line than I'd ever need to furl it with plenty of space to spare. If fact now that you've got me thinking this way I just may go out and do that today. Thanks Flrider! May I share my regards with the other side of the gulf coast and all who live there.

I played with it a while and I think the trick is to first put the line under pressure (attaching the bungee where you intend to have it) and wrap the lines around the furling device and around the Gide. Then, move the one black bead as far forward towards the guide as possible and tie one of the stopper knots there. Then, move the other bead as far BACK as possible and then tie the two bitter ends together. Tuck the knot you just tied into the black bead. That seemed to solve the problem for me.

I am thinking that it was never intended to so tightly wrap up the sail that the clew end is snugly wrapped up...

I'll get some pictures up soon.

Larry

_________________2010 Mirage Oasis Tandem

Words Of Wisdom From My Old Mentor....

"I never met a man on his deathbed, who wished he had spent more time at the office."